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I was pretty excited to have my kitchen featured on Design*Sponge last week. If you are dropping by because of the post, I just want to say hi, and thanks for visiting. And if you are dropping by for any other reason—welcome to you as well. This is a very new blog, so it is fun to have visitors :)

I think best thing about the whole ordeal with D*S might have been the fact that it forced me to get my source list and budget breakdown together in a hurry. I have been meaning to do it for a number of weeks, but this was a kick in the pants. A note on the budget—it's a pretty accurate estimate. There was some overlap with other categories from our monthly budget, and I lost track of a few receipts, but it should be pretty close.

And finally—as an incentive to get through this long, boring post—if you keep reading to the end of the post, I will show you a really weird photo. How's that for motivation?

Professional installation of two pendant kits over peninsula, a light over sink, two recessed lights in kitchen, and re-positioning chandelier over dining table, with dimmer. Also replacement of all outlets in dining room and kitchen. I hung the actual fixtures myself. Work done by Wall's Electrical—highly rated on Angie's List

3-Jar Chandelier from West Elm (I cut this one apart and hung the jars as single pendants over the peninsula, using West Elm's conversion kits. I spray painted the kits to match the fixtures with some Rustoleum dark metallic spray paint from Walmart)

Light Fixtures & Supplies$350West Elm had a 20% off sale, and I also used $150 worth of credit card points, so I saved a ton off of the regular price.

Open Shelving$70

Hardware & Hinges$143

Paint, Primer & Supplies$375

Front Panel for Peninsula$30

Decor & Storage$160This includes lots of cabinet organization stuff, so it isn't all stuff you can see in the photos...

Miscellaneous Supplies$120

DIY Dining Table, 6 Chairs, & 4 Stools$250 We sold our previous dining set for $530, and I used $200 worth of gift cards toward it as well, so technically, all of the furniture would have been $980.

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GRAND TOTAL $5958

As promised, here is the weird photo. Strange, huh? It is one of the few tomatoes I saved from the crazy squirrels in my garden. I can see why they left it for me. I kind of like it, though, tumor and all...